networkn: For those of you who sharpen your knifes at home, on a steel.. PLEASE wash your knives very carefully afterward. Tiny shards of metal in your soft tissues isn't an experience you'd likely forget.

Sorry for being pedantic, but do you mean honing rather than sharpening? If so, are you really removing any metal to wash off?

Having said that, I always give my knife a wipe down after honing anyway, seems adequate.

The famous Damascus steel can't be reproduced since the original iron ore sources don't exist anymore and afaik they were located in India and/or Sri Lanka. As @Geektastic said, the exact manufacturing process and -knowledge were lost as well during the centuries. ALL today productions are "damascus-like steel". They are completely different because their characteristic pattern today comes from the forge, but the original damascus pattern came from the metal compilation and handling process.

Since the posting is related to generic kitchen style knives, we should not drift to utility or hunting knife requirements.

(in that case I currently use a steel (CPM S-90V) which is capable to dismantle 8 boars (up to now) in a row and after that it still can easily do a sheet of paper test without any issues but will be a hell once to re-sharpen it without Diamond support).

It definitely isn't in the league of a good ZDP steel knife, but it offers great value for what it costs. I also have some Victorinox 3.5" & 4" utility/paring knives, thin profile and cut well but you need to sharpen them fairly regularly or they aren't all that great. The top quality ZDP knives will need sharpening less often, but be difficult to sharpen - I'd love to own one but can't justify spending $800 on a knife, especially when I have my eye on a motorcycle that will cost $21,500.

If you can learn to sharpen your own knives so you can keep a good edge even on a modestly priced knife then you can have a good cutting experience with your knives without spending a fortune. I know that I can grab one of my $12 folding knives and it will have a LOT more sharpness than the average persons best kitchen knife, I have a pic somewhere of my finger after I was careless with one of my knives, luckily the cut was so clean that it healed with no scar whatsoever.

Any thoughts on these knives, or other suggestions would be appreciated.

Actually, the Masakage Yuki Gyuto 210mm might be a contender, not as pretty to look at as the Shimo, but the stainless steel cladding over the carbon steel is probably a good thing for rust resistance.